Tottenham face Southampton tonight at St Mary’s and the match up will feature a couple of sides trying to make it to European competition next season. The away side defeated Saints last season 2-0 and it was Harry Kane who scored a goal after a mistake from Virgil van Dijk.
The Dutch defender has been brilliant for the Saints this season but after making his move from Celtic last season, the mistake against Spurs was one of the few he committed in an otherwise impressive debut season.
Speaking ahead of the clash against Tottenham, the defender was keen on not repeating the same mistakes again and stated (via The Times):
“Last year against Tottenham at home, I had a mistake that was maybe the only mistake in the whole season but it was a huge mistake.
“I mishit the ball and Kane ran through. Maybe in another league the striker does not score, but in the Premier League the players are so good. It was embarrassing but you need to be strong, take it like a man, and go again.”
Tottenham looking to continue their march to the top four
Spurs might have lost to Manchester United a couple of weeks ago, but the Lilywhites are back on track for a top four finish. They are just one point behind Arsenal and a win away at Southampton will certainly prove that Tottenham are set for a fight till the end. Tottenham still have the Europa League to look into after their elimination from the Champions League.
Mauricio Pochettino didn’t really pay a lot of attention to the competition last season as they were also charging for the Premier League title. But this season seems to be different as Chelsea and Liverpool are also trying out to make it to the top four. Tottenham might have to win the Europa League to make it to the Champions League next season and Pochettino might not neglect the competition this time around.
Southampton, for their part, are again having a great season despite losing their manager Ronald Koeman at the start of this season. Claude Puel has made the Saints tough to beat and they did have a decent Europa League campaign, even though they bowed out from the competition.
This clash will be a great one for the neutrals and the seventh placed Saints will certainly be looking to close the gap on Tottenham. Spurs will be buoyed by the knowledge that Hugo Lloris was the latest player to sign a new deal with the club following Harry Kane’s contract extension worth £100,000-a-week and maybe this could be the start of a great run for the London side, should they win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB5Gz1fbBqU
